Germany Army In Trouble For Propaganda Ads In Teen Magazines

It’s intriguing that marketing the military to kids is considered illegal and unethical in parts of the world, as it seems a normal part of life here in the United States. Via Russia Today:

The German Army has been accused of unethical recruitment practices, after it placed ads in a teen magazine promising “crazy water battles” and flights “in a real army plane” at its “Adventure Camps” that encourage youngsters to join the army.

The colorful adverts, showing smiling young teens, were published online and in the printed edition of Bravo, Germany’s most popular teen magazine. Under the slogan “Action, Adrenaline Adventure!” the German army, known as the Bundeswehr, is offering paid-for trips to Sardinia and the Alps for underage teens, where they are told about a possible career in the army once they come of age. Legally, the Bundeswehr cannot recruit people under the age of 18.

Ralf Willinger, a children’s rights consultant at Terre des Hommes [said] “The armed forces should be limited to recruiting adults, so that they do not attract young people who are easily influenced and can hardly appreciate what an obligation military service and the related foreign missions can entail.”

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The thing is, the UN Declaration on Human Rights prohibits using or recruiting minors for the military. From stateside, it seems perfectly clear that the child soldiers of Sierra Leone etc. are being terribly exploited – after all, they’re just KIDS – but our high schools’ ubiquitous ROTC programs are essentially in the same business in a different market.

http://buzzcoastin.posterous.com BuzzCoastin

Advertising being used for nefarious purposes?!
By the German Army?!
Well I, for one, am shocked.

http://buzzcoastin.posterous.com BuzzCoastin

Advertising being used for nefarious purposes?!
By the German Army?!
Well I, for one, am shocked.